Commanders news and observations: Deebo Samuel is going deep

Washington Post

a day ago

The Washington Commanders will play a football game this week. Monday morning, they held their last practice before heading to New England for Wednesday's joint practice with the Patriots and Friday's preseason debut. Those two days will reveal a lot about where the Commanders are in their roster decisions.
Here's what mattered at Commanders training camp Monday.
The clock is ticking on Terry McLaurin. McLaurin has missed two weeks of on-field training camp practices during his contractual skirmish with the Commanders, which added a trade request last week. Presuming the sides solve their differences and McLaurin signs an extension, he may not be guaranteed to play Week 1. The duration of his absence has not yet jeopardized his availability. That time may soon be coming.
Coach Dan Quinn made clear that if and when McLaurin returns, the Commanders will prioritize his physical preparation. Quinn did not place a timetable on how long it would take McLaurin to get up to speed once he returns to the field.
'We won't rush that,' Quinn said. 'It's too important. But all of the guys need that at any position, at any spot. … We won't shortchange that. We've all seen that through the years around the league — somebody hustles back, and they got banged up, maybe they didn't follow the process. It's hard as a coach. But you stay disciplined when those moments happen.'
McLaurin has been working inside the Commanders' facility since he ended his holdout last week. Under Quinn's plan, McLaurin will still need to transition to on-field drills and 11-on-11 action to protect him from injury.
'Really hard routes, de-celling, stopping, that's the hardest part,' Quinn said. 'That's the comeback. That's in-breaking route.'
For the first time since he reported to camp, McLaurin did not emerge after practice to sign autographs. Even though he wasn't spotted, McLaurin was at the facility and his status is unchanged — he's on the physically unable to perform list, not holding out.
Guard Brandon Coleman missed practice with an injury he suffered Saturday, and his status for Wednesday's joint practice is up in the air. Coleman has been a standout in camp for how much growth he's shown since his rookie year and his seamless transition from left tackle to guard. Quinn did not seem overly concerned the injury would linger into preparation for Week 1.
Also along the offensive line, Quinn said guard Sam Cosmi's Week 1 return from the torn ACL he suffered in January is 'definitely still on the table.' But it's far from certain. It'll be another few weeks before the Commanders discuss whether Cosmi can come off the physically unable to perform list. He has been working out daily on unoccupied practice fields, but Cosmi needs more work with load-bearing exercises and exerting excessive force with his knee.
'We're pleased with where he's at,' Quinn said. 'He's absolutely busted his ass to put himself into a spot to do that, but it's too early to call. He's hitting all the marks. No matter what, it takes time and skill work.'
With Coleman out, the Commanders used a first-team offensive line, from left to right, of Laremy Tunsil, Andrew Wylie, Tyler Biadasz, Nick Allegretti and first-round rookie Josh Conerly Jr.
With all linemen healthy, Conerly and Wylie are in competition for the starting right tackle spot. Wylie probably has the edge right now. Conerly played only left tackle at Oregon, and moving to the opposite side is an adjustment for the 21-year-old. He has shown improvement from early in camp, and teammates have uniformly raved about his raw talent and approach.
'He's talented,' offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury said. 'He has everything you want. He's got to get used to playing on the right side, which takes some time. But he's game. He asks great questions, studies hard, works hard. He's pretty much right where we expected him to be.'
Deebo Samuel showed no ill effects from the jammed finger he suffered Saturday. Samuel, whom the Commanders acquired from the 49ers for a fifth-round pick, has been a stud during training camp. On Monday, he caught a perfectly thrown deep ball from Jayden Daniels down the right sideline with cornerback Jonathan Jones draped on him. He followed that with two catches on crossing routes.
The depth of those catches was telling. In recent seasons in San Francisco, the 49ers used Samuel almost exclusively on screens and short crossing patterns. His average catch last year came 6.4 yards past the line of scrimmage, according to NFL Next Gen Stats. For comparison's sake, Zach Ertz's average was 7.6 yards. At least in training camp, Kingsbury has been using Samuel far more often on vertical and intermediate routes.
'Anything we ask him to do inside or outside, he's going to go at it 1,000 miles per hour,' Kingsbury said. 'He has an ability to separate. He's so strong running through at a high speed. He's been awesome.'
Luke McCaffrey's hold on the third wide receiver spot is looking tenuous. The Commanders have given the second-year player every chance to seize a significant role. Coaches say they've been pleased with his progress, but he hasn't made many plays in 11-on-11 sessions. He had a particularly difficult practice Monday. He stumbled to the grass on one route, seemingly ran the wrong pattern during a two-minute play and was locked up all practice.
Kingsbury pointed out that McCaffrey has played more outside than expected 'out of necessity' with McLaurin not practicing and Noah Brown, who missed another practice Monday, rarely on the field so far. To the eyes of outside observers, it hasn't clicked.
Rookie Jaylin Lane, meanwhile, continues to make a strong impression. Coaches gave him some time with Daniels and the first-team offense Monday. He twice shook cornerbacks on out-breaking routes, creating immediate space before making a pair of catches. Daniels already seems to trust him.
'Super, super talented. Very fast,' Kingsbury said. 'I've been really impressed. I don't think I could see some of those things at Virginia Tech watching the film. Being around him in person, watching him run around, watching the coachability, the route tree he can run, it's been impressive.'
The only interception of practice came from rookie Trey Amos, who nabbed a pass from Daniels thrown slightly behind Chris Moore. It's been a really strong camp for Amos. It'll be telling how he holds up physically against the Patriots this week, but his coverage skills and length continue to stand out. 'Trey has a good day every day,' defensive coordinator Joe Whitt Jr. said.
Along with Coleman and Brown, cornerback Mike Sainristil, linebacker Jordan Magee and backup quarterback Marcus Mariota did not practice Monday. Mariota hasn't practiced during team drills in a week, but Quinn hasn't seemed concerned. Over the weekend, he said Josh Johnson and Sam Hartman were competing for the third quarterback job, essentially declaring Mariota is Daniels's backup.
The unexpected star of post-practice was 3-month-old Dominik Tafro of Chantilly. Fans shrieked for Daniels as he signed autographs along a fence, a roar that sounded more like a rock concert than a training camp practice. As he worked the line, Ivor Tafro thrust his baby, Dominik, above the crowd. Doing his best Ricky Bobby, Daniels ran a Sharpie over Dominik's Commanders onesie. It was actually the third autograph on the outfit — Marshon Lattimore and London Fletcher had already signed Dominik.